Travel Weekly's Hawaii E-Letter: August 6, 2001

MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL sold the Waikiki Beach
Marriott Resort, a 1,300-room hotel on Waikiki, to a group of
investors led by CNL Hospitality for about $130 million in cash.
Marriott will remain a minority investor in the owning partnership
and will continue to operate the hotel under a long-term contract.
The sale is part of Marriott's strategy to divest corporate-owned
hotels while maintaining management relationships. To date, the
firm has sold assets valued at more than $600 million.

THE HAWAIIAN TOURISM AUTHORITY initiated a
series of meetings with airlines urging them to add -- or at least
maintain -- service to Hawaii. The number of air seats from the
U.S. mainland to Hawaii decreased by 4.6% in the first six months
of the year, according to the Hawaii Dept. of Business Economic
Development and Tourism. "It's not like we have some grand proposal
that we want the airlines to stand up and salute, but by meeting
with them we hope to build positive relationships and some
credibility," according to Bob Fishman, HTA's chief executive.

THE NUMBER OF AMERICAN tourists visiting Hawaii
fell 3.8% in June compared with the same month last year, according
to the Hawaii Dept. of Business Economic Development & Tourism.
During the first six months of the year, the number of Americans
visiting Hawaii was down just 1.2% from last year, from 2.23
million to 2.2 million, according to the department.

CLASSIC VACATION GROUP, owner of Classic
Hawaii, posted a $355,000 profit during the second quarter. The
company had a $2.2 million loss during the same period last year.
Classic's Hawaii business and the company's inbound U.S. business
put the breaks on higher profits in this year's quarter, said CEO
Ron Letterman. "Our Hawaii business is being affected by a soft
U.S. economy," he said.

AN EXTENSION OF THE BISHOP MUSEUM in Honolulu
opened in the Hilton Hawaiian Village Kalia Tower in Waikiki. The
Bishop Museum at Kalia has Hawaiian weapons made from sharks'
teeth, Hawaiian crafts, surfboards, tools, clothes and a film of
the Waikiki area from the early 1900s. The museum is open from 9
a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.